Mentors

Founded by Leonid Boguslavsky and H-FARM

← The manifesto08 / 12 · As a nAItive mentor

08

Show up prepared.

Read what the Fellow sent before you meet. Bring specific questions, not generic advice.

The fastest way to waste a founder's time is to spend the first twenty minutes having them explain what they already sent you. Preparation is a basic form of respect, and it's what separates a useful mentor from a well-meaning one.

Read the materials. Look at the product. Check the website, the deck, the numbers, the question they asked. Arrive with a point of view and two or three specific questions that only someone who did the homework could ask.

Preparation also means knowing what the founder needs from this particular conversation. If it isn't clear, ask before you meet. A focused thirty minutes beats a wandering hour.

All principles

  1. 01Keep the founder in the driver's seat
  2. 02Build capability, not dependency
  3. 03Be direct
  4. 04Ask for evidence, not opinions
  5. 05Separate fact, experience and hypothesis
  6. 06Say “I don't know”
  7. 07End with a next step
  8. 08Show up prepared
  9. 09Be responsive and follow through
  10. 10Open doors
  11. 11Keep it confidential. Declare conflicts
  12. 12Earn your place in the pool